Athletic director navigates eventful first year at UNLV
When Desiree Reed-francois took over as UNLV’S director of athletics on June 1 last year, she made it clear her top priority was to listen and learn. Coming from Virginia Tech, where she served as associate AD from 2014-17, Reed-francois wanted to take some time to educate herself on the culture at UNLV and observe how the department operated before taking any sweeping actions. It was a nice idea, but as it turned out, easing into the role was not an option. Just a few months after settling in, Reed-francois found herself at the Thomas &Mack Center volunteering to help victims on the night of the October 1 shooting tragedy, and her eventful first year on the job continued to twist and turn from there.
Reed-francois has steered the athletic While no one could have predicted the department through a gauntlet, from the specific challenges Reed-francois faced in premature departure of the university president, her first year, she said anticipating obstacles to the signing of a joint-use agreement and maneuvering around them is part of with the NFL that will give UNLV football a the job description for a Division-i athletic new home stadium, to the exit of a longtime director. athletic administrator amid allegations of “You’re going to have problems,” inappropriate workplace conduct, to the Reed-francois said. “It’s how you respond continuation of a large-scale rebuilding to them. As a leader you’re going to be tested, effort by the school’s flagship sports program. and people are going to watch to see how you respond to those challenges. It’s
If Reed-francois wanted to learn by an opportunity for you to build even more experience, she’s got it now. trust.”
The biggest bump in the road was the regents’ handling of UNLV president Len Jessup’s tenure, which ended in March. Jessup was the final decision-maker in Reed-francois’s hiring, and he was a big proponent of collegiate athletics during his three years at UNLV.
Reed-francois acknowledged Jessup’s integral role in her hiring and expressed confidence that the next president would share Jessup’s belief in college sports.
“Athletics are integral to the DNA of this university,” Reed-francois said. “Athletics are part of the DNA of this community. So whomever is hired, I would think they would understand how athletics can help serve the educational mission.”
Reed-francois also touched on the resignation of former administrator Eric Toliver, who stepped down in February while under investigation for inappropriate behavior. Toliver worked at UNLV for 26 years, including the last 18 years as associate athletic director of compliance before the investigation prompted him to leave the university.
Reed-francois said the incident was unfortunate, but that it gave the department an opportunity to set an example for unacceptable workplace conduct.
“When we’ve had personnel challenges, we’ve lived by our core values,” Reed-fran-